Steve Bass

ZeroAds tries to remove all types of ads, but it's most effective at blocking simple banner ads and pop-ups; it didn't touch most of the Flash ads on the sites I tried. The program includes a cookie remover and an active anti-spyware module. The 15-day trial will help you decide how well the $30 products works at blocking ads on the sites you visit.

--Steve Bass

Note: This review addresses v2008.10.28.0 of the software.

Feeling out of touch with your PC? You can ask the SIW tool anything about your PC--it'll give you a list of regional settings or scheduled tasks, or which DLLs are loaded and which are shared. How about which video and audio codecs you have installed, or details about your network or open ports? SIW has everything, offering lists that you can easily access from toolbar shortcuts or from a panel with a hierarchy list.

Hidden Utilities XP lets you run almost a hundred tools that are in XP's grab bag of applets. That's super if you want to use once-in-a-while XP tools -- say, Component or Windows Services, or any of dozens of Command line tools, such as IPConfig or the ever-popular Logman.

--Steve Bass

Download and install K-Lite Codec Pack, which has almost every codec known to humankind (13 gazillion at least); this freebie comes with a handy video viewer, too.

--Steve Bass

Taskbar Shuffle lets you rearrange the order of applications on your Windows Taskbar. Drag an item to another spot on the Taskbar and drop it. I use it to keep items in the exact order I want. If you feel like living on the edge, let it shuffle the system tray icons. Way cool.

Note: This software comes in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. This is the 64-bit version, which is for 64-bit PCs running a 64-bit OS. If your PC is running a different supported OS, please download the 32-bit version instead. This program is donationware. It is free to try, but the author accepts and encourages donations towards further development.

The program lets you rearrange the order of applications on your Windows Taskbar. Drag an item to another spot on the Taskbar and drop it. I use it to keep items in the exact order I want. If you feel like living on the edge, let it shuffle the system tray icons. Way cool.

Note: This software comes in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. This is the 32-bit version. If your 64-bit PC is running a 64-bit OS, please download the 64-bit version instead. This program is donationware. It is free to try, but the author accepts and encourages donations towards further development.

Sandboxie is a free, but complicated, tool that holds downloads and their installations in a sandbox until you decide they're not harmful.

Note: The price is 26 Euros. The price given here reflects the exchange rate on the date this file was posted.

SpywareBlaster protects you by adding the URLs of risky sites to your browser's Restricted Zone, preventing malware from installing. The program doesn't scan or work in the background, but for a $10 registration, it will automatically download Restricted Zone lists.

The only downside, and it doesn't happen often, is that the tool may lock out a site you visit. Just remove the site from SpywareBlaster's list.

If you want a smart, free add-on for Internet Explorer, download IE7Pro. The free tool has tons of ways to make IE easier to use, with everything available from one button in the Status bar. IE7Pro stomps on banner and Flash ads, effectively removing most from the sites I visited, but has a tougher time removing pop-up ads; in my tests, most pop-ups snuck through like water through a sieve.

But IE7Pro isn't just about ad blocking. The tool has help you don't get in straight-laced IE, such as Super Drag Drop, a way to drag a link to any spot on the page to open a new tab; and Mouse Gestures, a cool feature that lets you scroll, open, close, and navigate through open tabs. There's also a built-in spell checker and a handy recovery feature just in case IE takes a nose dive and crashes.

Ontrack's EasyRecovery Professional recovers damaged, deleted, and missing files, even from reformatted partitions. It supports drives using FAT and NTFS file systems, and there's a trial version available. It comes with a Windows for when you can access the drive, and a DOS version, so you can boot from a CD.

Note: This trial/demo version works for 30 days. It allows you to view software functionality and recover a single file for free.

If you just need to casually hide one or more folders, use Free Hide Folder. It's a menu-driven and password protected tool that creates obscurely-named, hidden folders to hold your private data. But it's not secure--Directory Opus, an ordinary file manager, displayed the hidden folder. And if you search for a filename in the folder, or part of the filename, say, *.JPG, you can find the files and their locations. If you want the folders hidden and secured, use TrueCrypt. It's a free, powerful tool that creates an encrypted volume you use like any other drive--except that only you can access the files. To avoid losing your data, it's essential you read the tutorial.

--Steve Bass

Feeling out of touch with your PC? You can ask the SIW tool anything about your PC--it'll give you a list of regional settings or scheduled tasks, or which DLLs are loaded and which are shared. How about which video and audio codecs you have installed, or details about your network or open ports?

SIW Standalone has everything, offering lists that you can easily access from toolbar shortcuts or from a panel with a hierarchy list.